Rescue corral operator helps another injured colt

He was named after a gimpy character on the old TV show, "Gunsmoke," but the 2-month-old colt has a harder time getting around.

Chester, named for Matt Dillon's deputy, played by Dennis Weaver, in addition to being a chestnut, is the second injured young horse found at the Lockwood landfill this year.

In May, a filly, Tulip, with a severely injured lip was rescued and taken to Lucky Horse Corral in Dayton, run by Shirley Allen and Least Resistance Training Concepts.

Chester has a severe injury to his coronet band, which attaches the hoof to the leg, abcesses up his leg to the knee and bruises on all his other hooves, plus injuries on his back, rump and neck.

"He probably got his foot caught in something and then bruised the others pulling it out," Allen said.

Tulip is now healed and waiting to go to her new adoptive home. Allen was about to take a break when Nevada Department of Agriculture range manager Mike Holmes called about the colt, whose injuries are even more severe than Tulip's.

"She just getting better," Allen said. "My mother-in-law was in the hospital. I had company coming and Mike called and said 'I got a baby.' I didn't ask any questions, I said 'OK.'"

The colt has been at the Allens for a week, and may cause Allen to miss a horse adoption event planned for S&W Feeds in Carson City.

"I'll find someone to sit with him while I load up the horses and get them there, but then I'll have to come back," she said. "The rest of the gang will do the adoption."

The rescue group will be presenting Virginia Range rescued horses for adoption at S & W Feeds, 2292 South Carson St., in Carson City today.

Chester won't be available for awhile, she said.

"He's looking pretty good, but he doesn't get up much," she said. "And he's not eating as well as I'd like him to be."

The colt spends most of his time lying on his stomach, and although Allen said he can get up by himself, she usually has to help as the tiny hooves sometimes slip on the concrete patio where he lives in a makeshift stall. She said he was too big to keep in her bedroom, like she has other injured foals.

"We're going to hope and pray for the best," she said. "There is still a chance that he could lose that hoof."

If that happens, she said, they will try to find someone to make Chester a prosthesis.

"We've got a lot of things to fight, but we're going to fight it," she said.

She was concerned about the fact that the horse had to spend so much time down they were at risk for serious illnesses like colic and pneumonia.

"You get between a rock and a hard place with leg injuries because the horses have to be up and active to keep their systems going."

Chester has been seen by a veterinarian, she said, who was happy with his progress.

His stall is next to a pen where Tulip romps, and though they can sniff each other, he can't romp with her.

"She's a kick," Allen said. "Around 7:30 or 8 a.m. it's showtime. She runs and kicks and bucks. She's quite a pistol."